7 Benefits of Google Plus For Business

Google+ for business has continued to be a growth market for businesses and for search engine optimization.

Google+ has definitely succeeded where their previous attempts at harnessing social media have failed. Remember Google Buzz or Google Wave?

Google Plus reached 100 million users faster than Facebook (which took what, four years?) and Twitter it took even longer to eclipse 100 million. Google may have finally created the social network they were hoping for.

Why Should My Business Be on Google Plus?

Great question! Why should you create a Google+ business profile? Well, it is owned and operated by Google of course. And as a generalization, like YouTube and Google Places for Business, Google+ profiles do have some perks in getting ranked/indexed by Google. You increase the odds of getting highly targeted visitors from Google’s organic search results if you have a Google Plus account.

Similar to Facebook’s “like”, Google has “+1” votes. The more +1’s your pages and posts the better. Those social signal votes, let Google know that what you’re sharing is being read and shared. Google+ profiles and pages can have a significant impact on search rankings.

I’ve got a couple of tips that will show you some ways you can use Google plus for business. The added benefits of increasing the authority and influence of your company, your brand and boost your search rankings.

Your Google Plus Profile

The About section of your Google+ profile gives you a great opportunity to write about your business. You can write what your business is about, the kinds of products and services you offer. This introduction content will also end up being used by Google as your page’s meta description when it shows up in the search results.

*Pro tip – You can create links within that introduction content that links back to different pages of your site. A couple of smartly used anchor text keywords would be nice, but definitely no keyword stuffing.

Link, link, LINK!

If you have any other social media profiles, from Facebook, to Instagram and Pinterest, you MUST add them to the links section of your Google+ profile as well. What better way to get a little more link juice and authority from Google than to have your social profiles included on their page for your business?

Circle Google+ People!

You can find people to add to your circles pretty easily based on your interest with Google’s search feature. Like Twitter, the odds are in your favor that if you add them to your Google+ circle, they will follow your account back. Doing so can increase your odds of exposure when you start sharing your content with the world!

Share Content!

Your content and others’ content that you find of value. Every article that you share, creates a link back to your site. And with it being Google, you sharing on their social network gets your content indexed almost immediately. Share information, whether it’s an infographic, video, or even something funny, sharing is caring for your Google+ network.

Engage!

You’re sharing content your own content, re-sharing quality content to your community and that’s great. Take it to the next level, by commenting on what other people are sharing. +1 their content, leave a quality comment. Be involved. That added exposure will naturally draw people to add you to their circles and increase the chances of your content being shared with their circle of influence.

Google Plus Business Secret

Encourage your employees or coworkers create their own Google+ profiles if they don’t already have a profile. They can help you in just a couple minutes a day, post links to your websites on their Google+ profiles, they can share the posts from your page and even +1 posts. It’s an easy, yet powerful way to quickly and legitimately gain social signals for a new page.

Final Google+ Thought…

Google+ isn’t going anywhere. I have a feeling its influence will continue to grow in the social media marketing arena over the next couple of years. From the community itself, to the ability to write keyword rich content that links back to your sites, there are definitely some search and social advantages to being active on Google+ for your business.

What Do You Think?

I’d love to hear what y’all have been doing to maximize your Google+ business profile. Do you think Google Plus is valuable for business? Or if you have questions, ask away in the comments below.